The sport (or activity) of surfing is popular throughout much of the world, particularly in areas adjacent to large bodies of water with naturally rolling surf. There are, of course, locations which do not enjoy these natural phenomena but do have the facility to provide artificial or manmade surf conditions.
Surfing extends across a broad spectrum of human activity. For example, the sport can be purely recreational and enjoyed by all manner of participants with various skill levels. In addition, the sport extends into the professional arena with highly skilled “surf riders” or “surfers” competing for monetary (and similar) prizes and awards.
The sport is known to have been in existence for hundreds of years. History records surfing as being known and practiced by Pacific Islanders and Ancient Polynesians. In some very early cases, political and/or social status was said to be established by surfing skills.
In the early days, the “surf boards” (or boards) were rudimentary articles generally comprised of naturally occurring products such as fallen trees, stiff or rigid fronds or the like. These articles were improved, refined and reformed by the riders to enhance their surfing skills.
Originally, the boards were rather large, for example, up to 9 feet in length (or even longer). Over time, the size of the boards, generally, got smaller as did the weight thereof. Wood boards were replaced by Styrofoam or compound resin boards, typically, encapsulated within skins of various types of plastic materials. Fins were added to the boards, primarily for stability, and even expanded to multiple fin configurations. The surfing industry exploded.
The more recent innovations have been made largely in the fin design. The fin shapes have been made smaller and less bulky. They have also been made as a planar device which is configured in a vertical arc that resembles somewhat a letter “C” or the fin of a shark.
A major manufacturer in this field, for example Futures Fin Technology (FFT), produces many fins with this “crescent” shape. These fins comprise a generally planar element which is attached to the underside or bottom surface of the surfboard and include a curved “sail” which is, typically, shaped somewhat like a boomerang or the like.
Some of the newer fins incorporate multiple segments which are joined in specialized configurations. For example, ELEVON, produced by FFT, is comprised of a generally planar vertical portion which is mounted to the surfboard, perhaps at a modest angle, and a “sail” which has the “shark fin” shape which are so-named because they resemble the dorsal fin of some sharks.
Adjacent the upper or free end of the “shark fin sail,” a supplementary fin segment is affixed to the shark fin. The supplementary fin segment may be a curved component with an arc of approximately 90° which is joined to the shark fin.
Each of these fins is believed to provide certain advantages in surfing activities. Meanwhile research in this area continues.